Just The Class

Overview

Just the Class is a GitHub Pages template designed for the quick and easy deployment of course websites. It provides a boilerplate for various features such as announcements, a course calendar, a staff page, and a weekly schedule. The template is built on top of the popular Just the Docs theme, which offers an extensive range of features including automatic navigation structure, instant full-text search and page indexing, and a collection of user interface components and authoring utilities. Just the Class has been utilized by several reputable institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, Northeastern University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Features

• Announcements: Easily create and manage course announcements.
• Course Calendar: Generate and maintain a course calendar to keep students informed about important dates.
• Staff Page: Display information about the teaching staff for the course.
• Weekly Schedule: Create a weekly schedule for the course, outlining topics, readings, and assignments.

Installation

To install and use the Just the Class template:

1. Create a new repository based on the Just the Class template.
2. Update the _config.yml and README.md files with your course information. Ensure that you modify the url and baseurl fields accordingly.
3. Configure a publishing source for GitHub Pages to make your course website live.
4. Edit and create .md Markdown files to add more content pages to your website.

For local development, follow these steps:

1. Clone your template repository to your local machine.
2. Refer to the GitHub Docs on testing your GitHub Pages site locally with Jekyll for instructions on setting up a local development environment.

Summary

Just the Class is a GitHub Pages template that provides a hassle-free solution for deploying course websites. By extending the Just the Docs theme, it offers a range of useful features for instructors, including customizable announcements, course calendars, staff pages, and weekly schedules. With its ease of use and proven reliability, Just the Class has gained popularity among prestigious institutions for the creation of their course websites. Whether you are a teaching professional looking to streamline website deployment or a student seeking information about a course, Just the Class provides a user-friendly solution for all.